1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of robotics and, more particularly, to a modular articulated robot structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art it is known to have robot systems which are modular, reconfigurable and expandable to thus improve the flexibility and versatility thereof. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,662 issued to Goldenberg et al. on Jun. 4, 1996, discloses a manipulator arm formed of a number of independent rotary joints releasably connected to each other by means of elongated connector members. The manipulator arm may be disassembled and reassembled in order to obtain different arm configurations. More particularly, each joint generally includes a L-shaped member and an inverted U-shaped member pivotally movable with respect to the L-shaped member. A motor having a drive shaft is mounted to the L-shaped member for pivoting the inverted U-shaped member relative to the L-shaped member. The inverted U-shaped member includes a pair of opposed downwardly extending connecting plates which are pivotally connected respectively to an upwardly extending portion of the L-shaped member and to the drive shaft of the motor. Accordingly, the U-shaped member is supported by both the L-shaped member and the drive shaft of the motor, whereby the drive shaft is submitted to workloads and static loads, and thus the overall structural rigidity of the manipulator arm is compromised.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a rotary joint having a motor which is configured and positioned to transmit a pivotal force without supporting any load other than the rotational load.
Furthermore, the aforementioned L-shaped and inverted U-shaped members do not provide support to each other at certain relative positions thereof which would increase the rigidity of the above described flexible manipulator arm in these positions, as this increased rigidity may be required to accomplish particular tasks.
It would also be very suitable to have a modular robot structure wherein each module is provided with mating electrical connectors, such as pin connectors, to enable quick connection and disconnection of adjacent modules.